The Duck-Rabbit Hoppy Bunny American Black Ale is both intensely hoppy and intensely black! Eight separate hop additions offer delicious bitterness and beguiling hop aroma/flavor. Heavily represented among these hops are Chinook, which provides deep pine and sticky citrus components, and a New Zealand hop called Motueka, from which we get bright fruit and spearmint notes.

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a black color with a 1 inch head. Smell is of hops, some roasted malts. Taste is like the hops and roasted malts going toe to toe throwing haymakers, with the malts finally winning in the end. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall, despite the somewhat high abv, this beer is extremely drinkable and enjoyable. (356 characters)

Pours quite dark with a good head, good retention and good lacing. Aroma is green with hops at first but roast and chocolate follow soon after. Chocolaty, herbal and bitter with a very bitter but pleasant finish. Not sure what separates it from a hoppy porter but it drinks well and that's the bottomline. There is a certain note that doesn't sit right with me but whatever. Medium feel, medium-high carbonation. Not bad.

A: pours a dark deep brown almost black with a 1.5" thick light tan caramel colored head that slowly dissipates leaving moderately thick lacing on the side of the pint glassS: floral, citrus, slight smell of fresh pineneedles, slight fresh baked pumpernickelT: hop character hits up front with supreme bitterness, beautiful dry acidic finish with lingering citrus hop flavor, just enough dark roasted malt to provide balance, no detectable taste of the 7.3% ABVM: medium body with just enough carbonation to keep tongue interested, lingers on the tongue and back of the throat without leaving a thick coated feelingO: This is a superbly hopped American Black Ale with qualities resembling a lighter IPA but having a richer more lasting finish. Overall an excellent beer. (774 characters)

Mouthfeel is creamy and oily slick, with light fizzy carbonation, a medium body and a chewy feel that is roasty and quite bitter like a Starbucks coffee with dry hops in it.

A very tasty and enjoyable beer that is very complex and gets better as it warms. This was a really good beer and went down easy; plus, it threw a nice hop punch to add bitterness and balance to the roasted malts. The balance and complimentary flavors make this one to seek out as it was very well done. (1,434 characters)

A - Pours with one finger of medium brown foam on top of an opaque, black body. The head settles pretty quickly and leaves moderate lace on the glass.

S - Dark, roasty malt with notes of chocolate, roasted nuts, and smoke as well as some green pine character in the background.

T - Dark, smoky chocolate up front with some dry, black coffee. More dark, almost charred malt in the middle and a touch of pine hops. Finishes with smoke, barks chocolate, and char as well as moderate bitterness and a bit of fruity hop character,

M - Medium body, moderate carbonation, and a dry finish.

D - Kind of odd re,arrived to the emerging style profile for a black ipa, with a dark malt character that is out of proportion to the relatively modest hop flavors. Still, I can't help but like it, the dark malt is expertly handled and it does work well with the pine hop flavors that confine themselves to the background. (909 characters)

Appearance: nearly black hue with just some brown highlights around the edges. Head is a two-finger ap of frothy tan foam. Quite attractive.

Smell: big chocolate nose with a notable helping of piney, citrusy, herbal hops. Reminds me more of a hoppy porter, but this style really does blur a lot of lines. I like it.

Taste: bigger hop character than the aroma, right up front. Emphasis on citrus and a little bit of conifer; I think the acidity contributed by the roasted malts exaggerates those characteristics. Chocolate and roastiness are still present, but play second fiddle to the hops. I think this is a pretty good execution of the style.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a nice, well-integrated carbonation and a satisfying creaminess. I like it.

Overall: a tasty and drinkable ABA. The style can be really hit-or-miss, but I think Duck-Rabbit has something here. (914 characters)

Consumed September 18th, 2012 from a standard pint glass. Bottle seems to indicate "best by 12/12".

Beer pours a deep, clear brown with garnet highlights. Head is three fingers tall from a moderate pour: light tan, composed of very fine creamy bubbles and very clingy.

Aroma is cocoa: thinner than a rich stout, more like a porter. Some nuttiness as well. Soft powdery, floral note in the background. Interesting.

Flavor is likewise cocoa, both upfront and as a slightly powdery, almost granular taste on the finish. In between, a bit of well-tamed resiny pine warms the palate. A little grassiness as well. The ABV is not apparent in the flavor.

Medium-bodied with a slight carbonation prickle.

Overall, this is a safer, saner take on the ABA than most I've had. I think I prefer this subtle, well-modulated (and sneaky : 7.3% ABV!) example of this hybrid style to the bigger, cruder examples that seem to hang out on the west coast. (939 characters)

A: Poured out a dark, dark brown color, with a thick, dense mocha head that looked both frothy and infinitely creamy.

S: I got a good bit of charred malt, with grape juice, and BBQd grapefruit. In other words, this one is roasty!

T: I've never had an IPA of any sort from Duck Rabbit, but this is a good on. Despite the bitter grapefruit and ash, the finish was pretty smooth and inviting. I got a bit of the same sort of dark fruit undertow that I usually get from Russian Imperial Stouts.

M: Thick and creamy, with a very dense concentration of flavor. The glass came out clean which was surprising, and I didn't get any hint of booze.

O: I used to hate this style, but as long as BIPAs continue to be made with this quality, I'll continue to explore. (791 characters)

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a 14 oz "pint" glass. Pours a nice black color as the name of the beer advertised with a nice froffy brown head that dissipates slowly. Smells of coffee and flowery hops, very nice. Tastes of chocolate, coffee, and some flowery hops, a nice combination. Medium bodied beer finishes well and has good carbonation. Overall, a very good beer. (371 characters)

Taste is on par for the style good roasted malts chocolate with descent coffee notes. Finish is nice and hoppy vegetable/herbal like hops. Pretty good would buy and enjoy again but have had better examples of the style.

A- pours a very dark brown almost black. Two fingers of healthy medium tan head is produced with great retention and mucho lacing. Awesome looking brew.

S- milk chocolate and malted milk balls at first with a leafy spicy hop note. Mild roast character with more chocolate!

T- light roast flavors with a mocha character. Cream and sugar French press coffee in the middle with a subtle hop note. Spicy woody hop flavor with a great bitterness on the back end. Dark chocolate in the aftertaste.

MF- smooth creamy mouthfeel with a medium body. Average carbonation.

D- Great drinkability.

Not a beer to knock your socks off but beautifully crafted and rather tasty. (665 characters)

Pours an opaque brown/black with a caramel-colored creamy head which disperses to a thin film of foam with nice lacing.

Aroma is mostly roasted malts and slight hop notes. Mouthfeel is solid and fits the appearance. Good carbonation.

Taste is roasted malts with a little smoke, some hop bite and a lingering sour finish. Having tried a few "black ale" beers, I think it's tough to make one that separates itself from a hoppy porter. Seems to me this falls in the latter category.

I'd definitely order it on tap but not buy it again in a bottle. If I want a porter, I'll just buy a solid porter, maybe even Duck Rabbit's Porter. Nothing special or profound here. (665 characters)

Appearance: Black in color with one finger of light brown foam. When you hold it to the light, there's a little light penetrating around the edges of the glass revealing some brownish hues. Pretty good lacing on the glass.

Taste: Hops and roasted flavor combine for a good dose of bitterness up front. There's a nice char (almost smoky) flavor that follows. Just a hint of dark chocolate towards the back end, but then the bitterness comes back for more and lingering long after the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with the carbonation coming in on the low side.

Morey's Bottom Line: Hops aren't really citrus or pine forward in this beer....just plain bitter. Couple that with the huge roasted flavors, and you have a bold & bitter brew. Luckily, I don't mind bitter, so this one is doable for me. Not the best example of a Black IPA, but not bad by any stretch. (958 characters)

Pours black, with some ruby coming out along the bottom, topped with a couple fingers of rich mocha head. This retains with a smooth finger, which drenches the sides of the glass with thick sticky lacing. The aroma smells flowery and herbal and even a touch spicy, with notes of chocolate and smoky roast rising up from underneath. Fresh citrus really leaves a nice impression here.

The taste is citric bitterness that spreads out into a grassy and herbal feel across the back of the palate, while cocoa sweetness comes in off the edges and this works its way into a deep roasted backend that really hangs some burnt character in the finish. That chocolate sweetness gets really smooth as this warms and helps keep this accessible. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a pleasantly smooth creaminess to it in the mouth that prickles the tongue with crispness just a bit. There is maybe a touch of warmth from that 7% ABV but its overall very nicely hid here.

I didn’t know what to make of this at first, with the uniqueness of I believe Summit hops and a very brunt finish keeping me out of this but then as things started to warm and balance and more of that chocolate flavor started to emerge, this ended up evening out very nicely. This was solid and I’d definitely try it again. (1,325 characters)

3.0 A: Black color. Two and a half fingers of frothy light brown head. Retention is good, but just a couple whisps of lacing are left.

3.5 S: Big citrus and pine hoppiness. Orange and pineapple are strongest with some papaya in there as well. Mild roastiness with notes of molasses and caramel. Not bad.

4.0 T: The taste is a bit strange, even by black IPA standards, but it works. Moderate roastiness that has a peculiar tanginess to it. It's like a tangy molasses I'd say. Big orange hoppiness with pineapple and mango not far behind. Less piney than the nose led on. The reason this works is that the bitterness is kept low.

Pours black with a nutty light brown head, about an inch, which dissipates slowly and retains a lacing.

Slightly smokey and very piney hop bitter aroma.

Pine and grapefruit hop bitterness right off the bat. A toasty caramel malt flavor is subsidiary.

Medium to full body with light tingles of carbonation on the tongue.

Pretty enjoyable and flavorful beer, but if you're not a fan of hops, you're going to have a bad time. This is overwhelmingly hoppy, approaching American BW or Imperial IPA levels and, in some examples, passing it. Still, as hoppy beers have grown on me, I'd have this again. (610 characters)

I'm really happy I waited to have this again and review it, for whatever reason I wasn't all that impressed the first time.

12 oz. bottle poured into a Sam Adams Perfect Pint Glass. Black in color with a light brown highlight in the middle area, but that's only when it's held up to the light. For the most part you really can't see through it at all. The head of the beer is crazy. It's a dark tan and it erupts and has the cool Guinness nitro effect look during the pour. It took awhile to pour and it took awhile for it to settle to start drinking. When you finally could start drinking, there's great lacing.

Smell is very good. Much hoppier than I remember having it before. Nice floral aromas with plenty of citrus and a touch of pine, very nice. Like everything from DR, there is a great malt backbone too. Plenty of roasted grain.

You have to wait for it to linger, but the taste is equally as excellent as the smell. Large malt backbone, plenty of roasted barley that provides some initial sweetness. Then there is a nice follow up of all of the above mentioned hops. The sweetness to bitter is balanced very well. At first it seems a little weak but the flavors really linger around, it's nice.

Mouthfeel is very good, heavier end of medium in body while having total full flavor. Great carbonation level. It's smooth with a surprisingly clean bitter finish. Duck-Rabbit does it again, but why should I be surprised. (1,434 characters)

A- Black. Maybe a few millimeters of brown on the edges when held up to the light. Dark Khaki head, about a finger on a normal pour. The lacing is great. Fantastic looking Black ABA/IPA

S- Earthy hops that are all over the place. Piney, minty, wet hemp. I let mine warm a bit, and it brings out some mild notes, of dark coffee, dark malts, dark chocolate, and chicory. Maybe a hint of Molasses as well.

T- Warmed up a bit, this is about as complex as I've had within the Style. A chicory bitterness hits up front, and transitions into a dark sweetness- Molasses and dark chocolate, but they are reserved in nature. The earthy hops really wash over and follow the smell quite well. I can easily taste the "family ties" to other Duck Rabbit brews as well.

M- Medium carbonation, and medium to full bodied. Pretty creamy. Not overly dry on the finish.

O- Fantastic stuff. I really appreciate the complexity of the hops and the quality of the malt bill. Highly recommended. (1,020 characters)

By far, the hoppiest beer I have ever had from Duck-Rabbit. Pours a dense mahogany brown with some light coming through on the sides. Good size tan head with decent retention. A few thick bands of lacing on the glass.

Taste: Hoppy hoppy; mostly of the pine and hemp variety; chocolate notes on the end and maybe a kiss of chicory - not much, though; there’s no mistaking this for a hoppy porter or stout as there’s virtually no roasted flavor - most definitely a Black IPA / ABA.

Mouthfeel: Thick; creamy; palate coating; high carbonation with a lot of texture.

Overall: This is a great ABA; big on hops, light on roastiness and chocolate; but, it's obsidian black... it’s a classic version of the style (especially of the Black IPA / Cascadian Dark Ale side of the spectrum); this one is right up there with one of my all time favorites - Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale. The pale malt backbone with just enough dark malt to provide the color without imparting roasted notes to the flavor and aroma is awesome.